Access to justice for people with mental illness and disability

Access to justice for people with mental illness and disability

People with mental illness and disability are over-represented in the justice system. The 2012 Legal Australia-Wide survey found that people with a mental illness or disability were more than twice as likely to experience legal problems. They are also more likely to experience multiple legal problems and have difficulty resolving them.

The justice system can be a particularly challenging place for people with disability and mental illness. We support more appropriate and effective responses for people in these circumstances, such as greater access to support, rehabilitation and tailored interventions.

We have significant experience helping people with disability or mental illness and use this expertise to advocate for reforms to prevent, and more effectively resolve, the legal problems of this priority client group.

Justice and law reform activities

Submission to the inquiry into market readiness of the National Disability Insurance Scheme – March 2018

Following on from our November 2017 submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, we have made another submission focussing on how the market is responding and in some cases failing to meet the needs of clients with complex clients. From the report – 'Since our last submission to the Committee in November 2017, we have seen an escalation and expansion of cases in which the unavailability of fully funded NDIS supports is directly affecting the liberty and safety of people with disability. The issue affects people with complex needs across Victoria, including, but not limited to, people living in regional areas. Our lawyers across our criminal, mental health and disability law and NDIA appeals practices are now all engaged with clients experiencing this same issue.' As outlined in the submission, when the NDIS market is ‘not ready’ or ‘fails’, our clients are put at risk of further harm by remaining in restrictive settings such as custody, psychiatric hospitals or becoming homeless. Among several recommendations contained in this submission we are calling for an urgent provider of last resort to be set up to meet these service needs.

The full Submission to the inquiry into market readiness of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be available shortly.

Submission to the inquiry into transitional arrangements for the NDIS and into general issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS – November 2017

As Victoria transitions into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), our lawyers are increasingly dealing with cases where disability services agencies are failing to provide services to our clients. These clients have complex intellectual disabilities and failure to provide services to them is having harmful consequences, such as imprisonment for months or even years. To highlight this concerning issue, we made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme in November 2017. The committee is currently examining the operation of the scheme, rather than just the launch and transition phase.

Submission to the Productivity Commission on National Disability Insurance Scheme costs – July 2017

Our submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) costs focuses on ‘reasonable and necessary supports’ and the Commission’s finding that not all participants are benefiting from the scheme, particularlu participants with psychosocial disabilities. Our submission draws on our recent experience in the case of McGarrigle v National Disability Insurance Agency [2017] FCA 308 where the court ruled that laws governing the NDIS do not allow the government to only partially fund supports that are found to be ‘reasonable and necessary’ for a person’s independence and meaningful social and economic participation.

Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Article 13 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – May 2017

As a legal aid programme with specialist services to improve access to justice for persons with disabilities, our submission provides valuable stakeholder perspective and illustrative data to the study on Article 13 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Submission to the Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws Issues Paper – January 2014

Our submission responds to questions posed in the issues paper that relate to priority areas of concern for Victoria Legal Aid. These relate to the recognition of legal capacity, improvements to our disability discrimination regime and eligibility requirements for the Disability Support Pension. We also highlight priority issues relating to accessibility of legal services and remedies.

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About this website

Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.

How Victoria Legal Aid can help: Call us on 1300 792 387, Monday to Friday from 8.45 am to 5.15 pm, for free information over the phone about the law and how we can help you. You can speak to us in English or ask for an interpreter. You can also find more legal information at www.legalaid.vic.gov.au